Choice Hotels Kicks Off 9th Annual "Mastery" Tech Innovation Summit, Operating at the Intersection of Hospitality, Franchising and Technology

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Mar 04, 2024, 12:10 ET

500 Choice technologists gather for trainings and workshops and to compete in a 48-hour make-a-thon to develop next-generation hospitality solutions

NORTH BETHESDA, Md., March 4, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE: CHH), one of the world's leading lodging franchisors, kicks off "Mastery 2024" today, an annual week-long tech innovation summit where more than 500 company technologists come together at Choice's Scottsdale, Arizona offices to learn and drive innovation through a series of gamified trainings and workshops that culminate in a 48-hour make-a-thon. In the make-a-thon, Choice associates ideate and build new software products leveraging advanced technology to drive profitability and value for the company and Choice hotel owners. During Mastery 2024, tech teams will develop solutions to speed up and improve the hotel onboarding process, measure and visualize a property's environmental footprint, improve the customer service experience, and more. At the end of each make-a-thon, teams will present their new products to a committee of Choice executives, with winners receiving cash prizes and the chance to have their ideas continue to be refined and deployed across the organization.

"Mastery keeps us current on cutting-edge technologies like AI and helps spark creativity, innovation, and team building," said Brian Kirkland, chief information officer, Choice Hotels International. "We want to make sure we are constantly innovating and trying new things so that we can continue to deliver value-driving technology for Choice, our franchisees, and our guests."

Last year, a tool created during Mastery reduced daily tickets from 4,000 to just 40 using AI and other new technologies. Previous winning projects include online travel agency enhancements that yielded additional revenue and multiple security analysis and automation tools.

"Choice's long-standing commitment and investment in technology provides hotel owners and operators of our brands with an edge," said Anna Scozzafava, chief strategy officer and senior vice president of technology, Choice Hotels International. "Our hotel-facing tech is cloud-based, mobile-friendly and easy to use to ensure all owners can leverage our best-in-class tools."

Choice recently announced the closure of its last data center, making it the first major hotel company to migrate its entire system infrastructure to AWS. Now fully on the cloud, Choice will continue to innovate and leverage the power of AI to drive even more business value for its franchisees. Choice has built and introduced industry-first owner-facing technologies, including the choiceADVANTAGE cloud-based reservation system; the Your Key to Profit platform, which centralizes profitability tools for owners; and choiceEDGE, which utilizes AI and historical trend analysis to help franchisees maximize room sales.

Choice Hotels has a history of technological firsts and innovation, including:

In 1995, Choice launched the first hotel website with real-time rate and availability information.
In 2003, Choice launched the first cloud-based property management system (PMS), choiceADVANTAGE.
In 2009, Choice released the first hotel app for iOS.
In 2014, Choice became the first hotel company to offer instant booking on TripAdvisor. That same year, Choice was the only hotel company listed on Forbes' Top 100 Most Innovative Growth Companies.
In 2016, Choice became the first hotel company to offer immediate in-app gift card downloads.
In 2018, Choice launched choiceEDGE, the industry's first cloud-based central reservation system (CRS).
In 2019, Choice became the first hotel company to commit to being 100% on AWS (Amazon Web Services) Cloud.
In 2021, Choice launched ChoiceMAX, an award-winning AI mobile-first revenue management solution.
In early 2024, Choice completed its migration to the cloud.

About Choice Hotels^®

Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE: CHH) is one of the largest lodging franchisors in the world. The challenger in upscale and a leader in midscale and extended stay, Choice^® has over 7,500 hotels, representing more than 630,000 rooms, in 46 countries and territories. A diverse portfolio of 22 brands that range from full-service upper upscale properties to midscale, extended stay and economy enables Choice^® to meet travelers' needs in more places and for more occasions while driving more value for franchise owners and shareholders. The award-winning Choice Privileges^® rewards program and co-brand credit card options provide members with a fast and easy way to earn reward nights and personalized perks. For more information, visit www.choicehotels.com.

SOURCE Choice Hotels International, Inc.